Nick Fahrenkopf spoke at the University at Albany's May 2008 Commencement. (Photo Mark Schmidt)

Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK), the National Leadership Honor Society, has awarded UAlbany graduate student Nick Fahrenkopf a $1,000 scholarship. Fahrenkopf was one of only 19 scholarship recipients across the nation in the highly competitive 2008 application process.

On more than 300 college campuses across the country, ODK recognizes and awards students who demonstrate exceptional leadership on their campuses and in their communities.

In addition to receiving a scholarship, Fahrenkopf was named the 2007-2008 Circle Leader of the Year at the UAlbany ODK Circle. The award recognizes him as someone who has made a qualitative difference in the institution and in the lives of other students.

"I'm so honored to have been selected as an Omicron Delta Kappa Scholar by ODK National, and as Leader of the Year by the UAlbany Circle," said Fahrenkopf, a May 2008 graduate from Castleton, N.Y., who is now a graduate student at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. "ODK continues to be a positive experience for me, and an asset to this University as faculty, staff, and students come together to develop leadership and move this institution forward as peers."

Fahrenkopf noted the Circle will celebrate its fifth anniversary during Homecoming Weekend (Oct. 24-25) with a reunion dinner, and added that it has received ODK's Superior Circle Award for the past four years.

Membership in UAlbany's ODK Circle is available to undergraduate juniors and seniors; to graduate students; and to faculty, staff, administrators and alumni. Student membership candidates must rank in the upper 35 percent of their school and show leadership in at least one of five areas: • Scholarship• Athletics• College or community service; social and religious activities; and campus government• Journalism, speech, and the mass media• The creative and performing arts

Students interested in joining the UAlbany Circle of ODK will find more information at: http://www.albany.edu/~odk/ . There is an $80 lifetime membership fee.